checkerboard

For a restaurant better known for cornbread and checkerboards than market volatility, the whole thing had the air of an identity crisis unfolding in real time.

So much so that covering the kitchen tile with blue and red checkerboard linoleum was one of their first dates in 2022, two years before Zaletel, 32, moved in.

A makeshift DJ booth, assembled from a couple of upended shopping carts and some speakers, is at one edge of the checkerboard in the dimly lighted room, underscoring the general do-it-yourself ethos of Rosales’ aesthetic.

Powers and his team repeatedly paired a projected checkerboard visual display with a one-second tone.

Floors are lined with vibrant green checkerboard patterns and wall-to-wall carpet.